Skip to Content

Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake {vegan, made w/ chickpea flour}

5 ingredient blueberry maple baked pancake made with chickpea flour! Similar to French clafouti, it is vegan, grain-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and oil-free.

Slided wedge of Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake on a piece of parchment paper with full pancake in background

I have just the recipe to make you smile as we head into the weekend. It tastes like a cross between a puffed pancake and rich French dessert, yet is loaded with superfoods. It is ready, start to finish, in under 30 minutes. Oh, and that enticing, generous wedge .pictured above and below? It has only 124 calories

It’s my super-simple, and so-delicious, Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake.

A single wedge of vegan Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake being served on a wood-handled spatula.

Similar to French Clafouti

I am calling this a baked pancake, but it is loosely based on French clafouti. Clafouti is an elegant summer dessert made from a simple batter of eggs, flour, milk, butter, sugar, and fresh fruit. 

My version is markedly different in multiple respects. Specifically, it is:

  • Vegan (egg-free & dairy-free)
  • Grain-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Oil-free
  • Made with 5 ingredients

Chickpea Flour Baked Pancake

Chickpea flour is the wonder ingredient that makes this pancake possible. It delivers the custardy texture (as well as protein and fiber), replacing both eggs and dairy. The remaining 4 ingredients include coconut milk, maple syrup, vanilla and blueberries. You will also need a smidge of salt and some water.

Instead of Oil, Use Full-Fat Coconut Milk

Coconut milk delivers healthy fat and nondairy milk in one fell swoop, allowing for an oil-free recipe. The recipe definitely needs the fat, so if you would like to use a different nondairy milk, I strongly suggest adding at least a tablespoon of oil to the recipe.

The recipe will work without the extra fat, so do what suits your needs. However, keep in mind that the resulting pancake will be more firm and less tender than the original.

To make the chickpea flour baked pancake, whisk everything, except the fruit (chickpea flour, coconut milk, water, maple syrup, vanilla, salt) in a medium bowl until completely blended.

If your chickpea flour has noticeable, hard lumps, I strongly suggest sifting the flour first; it is hard to whisk out the pesky lumps after the fact! Alternatively, toss all of the ingredients (again, except for the blueberries) in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.

Pour the batter into a sprayed or oiled 9-inch (22.5 cm) tart or pie pan and scatter with the blueberries. I recommend a glass or ceramic pan for the most even baking. If you are using a metal pan, reduce the oven temperature to 425F (instead of 450F) and reduce the baking time by several minutes, too.

Other pan shapes (e.g., 9-inch square, 11×7-inch rectangle) will work if you do not have a round pan, or if you prefer to cut the pancake into squares or bars.

Bake in a preheated 450F (225C) oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the pancake is golden brown and the center is set. Begin checking at the earliest time. Oven temperatures can vary (a lot); the variation is more pronounced with higher temperatures. If you know that your oven runs hot, begin checking even earlier, or set your oven to 425F.

I have made a note in the recipe that sometimes the center of the pancake will puff up, a little or a LOT, in the final minutes of baking. Don’t panic! It’s normal, and seems to vary according to the fruit (perhaps the water content, I am not certain). The center will drop back to normal as the pancake cools. Yo can accelerate matters by pricking the center with a toothpick or a fork.

This is the glorious result of your five minutes of effort:

It’s best to let the pancake cool for at least 20 minutes before cutting and serving. The surface of the pancake may crack in a few places (again, this seems to vary by the fruit) but it adds to the mosaic beauty!

I actually prefer my pancake wedge at room temperature, or even chilled, especially in these summer months. An extra drizzle of maple syrup is just the thing, too. 

As I mentioned near the start, this is a fantastic make-ahead breakfast, too. Grab a wedge and go! Or serve it with a dollop of whipped coconut cream or scoop of lemon sorbet for a summery dessert.

Happy baking, everyone!

Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake {vegan, grain-free, oil-free}

Blueberry Maple Baked Pancake {vegan, grain-free, oil-free}

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

5 ingredient blueberry maple baked pancake, made with chickpea flour! Similar to French clafouti, it is vegan, grain-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and oil-free.

Ingredients

  • 1 and 1/3 cups (160 g) chickpea flour (sifted if lumpy)
  • 3/4 cup (175 mL) full-fat (canned) coconut milk
  • 3/4 cup (175 mL) water
  • 1/4 cup (60 mL) pure maple syrup
  • 1 and 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt (more or less to taste)
  • 1 and 1/2 cups fresh or frozen (thawed) blueberries
  • Optional: additional maple syrup for drizzling

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450F (225C). Spray or grease a 9-inch round ceramic or glass tart pan or pie pan.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, coconut milk, water, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt unil smooth.
  3. Pour batter into prepared pan; evenly scatter blueberries over batter.
  4. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown and just firm at the center. (Note: see my note about puffing!) Transfer to a wire cooling rack and cool at least 20 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve warm, or cool completely, or chill until cold. Drizzle with additional maple syrup, if desired.

Notes

Center Puffing: Sometimes the center of the pancake may puff up--sometimes, dramatically! Not to worry, all is fine; give the center a light poke or two with a toothpick or fork. It will settle into place in moments as the pancake cools.

Storage: Store the leftover, cooled pancake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. I do not recommend freezing; the consistency is off when the pancake is defrosted due to loss of water.

Coconut Milk Options: You can use another nondairy milk in place of the coconut milk. However, since the coconut milk is providing the fat for the recipe, I strongly suggest adding some kind of fat (i.e., 1 to 2 tablespoons of the fat/oil of your choice) along with the other nondairy milk you choice.

Fruit Options: You can sub almost any other fruit you like for the blueberries! For example, cherries, peaches, apricots, apples, pears, figs, you name it!

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1/8 of pancake
Amount Per Serving Calories 124Total Fat 3.2gSaturated Fat 2.4gCholesterol 0mgSodium 90.4mgCarbohydrates 19.4gFiber 2.4gSugar 11.1gProtein 4.1g

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @powerhungrycamilla on Instagram and hashtag it #powerhungrycamilla

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Mel

Tuesday 31st of January 2023

Absolutely yummy! I didn't have any blueberries so used chopped up apple which worked well.

I doubled the recipe and used peanut butter blended with water to make up for only having had the amount of coconut milk.

They're portable and delicious! Looking forward to trying out other variations.

Thanks for always experimenting Camilla!

Camilla

Wednesday 1st of February 2023

Whoohoo, thanks Mel! I love the sound of the apples and peanut butter (yes, please). Brilliant re: the Pb + water--I am so going to try that, so thank you!

Tina

Thursday 29th of October 2020

can i use almond flour instead of CHICKPEA FLOUR?

Camilla

Monday 28th of December 2020

Hi Tina,

Alas, that will not work. Chickpea flour works as a binder (in place of eggs) in a way that almond flour cannot.

Mel

Saturday 4th of July 2020

I baked a little extra and it is super custard like.... maybe I need to bake more... it is not as firm.... more like anpudding underneath. I followed everything to the T.

Camilla

Saturday 4th of July 2020

Hi Mel, Oh no, it does sound like something went wrong somewhere, I am so sorry. If anything, there is more a chance of overbaking (too firm), I have never had it come out custardy on the bottom. Just troubleshooting: did you preheat the oven beforehand?

Julie

Saturday 27th of June 2020

Just made this for the first time and I love it! I was out of vanilla extract so I subbed in some maple extract I found in the pantry. I’ll definitely make again.

Camilla

Saturday 27th of June 2020

I am so glad that you enjyed it, Julie! Great sub with the maple extract :)

Rachel

Sunday 21st of June 2020

This looks delicious but the chickpea flour is a very strong flavor for me (and my family). I hoped the maple syrup would minimize it but it didn't. Did you always like the chickpea flour flavor or was it an acquired taste? I have tried it in many recipes but still haven't found one that works for our taste buds.

Camilla

Monday 22nd of June 2020

Hi Rachel,

I understand, I is not everyone's preference. I think I just love the flavor. I (highly) recommend trying it in combination with cocoa powder, it masks the flavor. I have chickpea flour chocolate brownies, cookies, ad cake on the site. Also, though not cocoa powder, my chocolate chip cookie recipe using chickpea flour does not taste at all like chickpea flour (my son loves them, he does not know they have chickpea flour.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Skip to Recipe